29G 



COMMON BIUTISH MOTHS 



sheltered spots, flj'ing at dusk. It appears in August, remains on 

 the wing till October, and then hybernates till the following April. 

 During the winter it is commonly met with 

 in outliouses and even in dwelling houses. 



The caterpillar feeds during June and July 

 on the flower buds of the honeysuckle {Loni- 

 cera Periclymenum). It is not hairy, like 

 most of the larvae of the last family ; and, 

 inilike these, it changes to a chrysalis in a 

 silken cocoon. 



Fig. 218.-HEXA- 

 DACTYLA — Enlarged. 



Cramhi 



The third group of the ' Micros' is the Cramhi, and contains 

 about eiglity species, arranged in four families. 



Some of them are connnon moths with which all must be more 

 or less familiar, as they are roused from the grasses on which thej- 

 repose at almost every footstep as we walk through meadows in the 

 summer. "\Mien at rest, they present a verj' peculiar appearance. 

 Their wings are wrapped closely round their bodies in such a man- 

 ner that they are hardh' distinguishable from the stems on which 

 they repose. 



The larvae have sixteen limbs, and are verj' variable in their 

 habits. Some feed among moss or dry stems in silken tubes, some 

 on the stems of reeds, and others inhabit the hives of bees and feed 

 on the wax of the honeycomb. 



The four families are : 



1. Chilidce — five species. 



2. CramhidcB — about thirty species. 

 '6. Phycidce—o\ev forty species. 



4. Gallcridce — five species. 



Cliilo PhragmitcJJiis 



This species is one of those moths known as the 'Veneers,' and 

 is popularly termed the Wainscot Veneer. It is one of the largest 

 of the family Chilidce. 



Its fore wings are long, narrow, and pointed at the tip. They 

 are of a pale ochreous brown colour, \\itli a row of small black dots 

 along the hind margin. 



The caterpillar is pale gi-ey, with brown stripes; and the head 



